"If These Walls Could Talk"
Because of my particular interest in outreach and education as a part of Library/Archive services, I was immensely excited that one of my shifts fell on the same day that my supervisor would be conducting a workshop on building/neighborhood research.
On Saturday, Nov. 9, the Othmer Library welcomed 13 guests into the space to conduct research. The cost of admission was $20 for members and $45 for non-members. Judging by their introductory remarks, the majority were novice researchers and homeowners who had come to learn more about the building they lived in. Through a slideshow presentation and hands-on exercises in which users practiced reading archival documents and fire insurance atlases, Cecily guided them through necessary steps for uncovering a home's history, such as going through the process of identifying their block and lot number, the date a building was erected, and insight regarding on how to read a land conveyance record. She also provided tips for delving into researching the buildings' home owners using BHS resources like elite directories and digitized historical newspapers. After a break, the researchers returned eager to uncover the history of these buildings. |
"Urban Renewal in the Suburban Age: The Struggle to Redefine the American City"
While attending the event on the legacy of urban planner Ed Logue, I overheard three men seated in front of me discussing the space when a photograph of it was projected during the pre-event slideshow along with the words “Research and Discover in the Othmer Library on our Second Floor!” and the museum hours. In conversation, these men wondered aloud what the library has in it, if the books there circulate, and whether or not it’s open to the public.
This experience has caused me to consider how the Brooklyn Historical Society might work to integrate the library’s holdings into relevant programming so as to implicitly answer some of these questions and encourage increased use of their offerings. Further: if people who’ve already come to the space where the library is located are unaware of these things, how inaccessible might it seem to anyone else? I question if there are proactive strategies the Brooklyn Historical Society might be able to take in order to entice and invite in communities and interest groups who may be unaware of how these freely accessible research materials could benefit their work or interests.
This experience has caused me to consider how the Brooklyn Historical Society might work to integrate the library’s holdings into relevant programming so as to implicitly answer some of these questions and encourage increased use of their offerings. Further: if people who’ve already come to the space where the library is located are unaware of these things, how inaccessible might it seem to anyone else? I question if there are proactive strategies the Brooklyn Historical Society might be able to take in order to entice and invite in communities and interest groups who may be unaware of how these freely accessible research materials could benefit their work or interests.
"The Stacked Deck: Race and America’s Unjust Criminal Justice System"
On Oct. 10, I attended this discussion between Nick Turner, president and director of the Vera Institute of Justice, and Khalil Gibran Muhammad, author of The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime and the Making of Modern Urban America.
The discussion was engaging, and I found myself especially interested in ways the speaks spoke directly of New York City/Brooklyn history in relation to these themes. Discussing the ways northerners legitimized the perception of a "Black criminality problem" after the 1890 census reflected the overrepresentation of black men in prison, Muhammad noted, "What plagues us isn't a southern story spread north." I wondered at this point what in BHS' archives from this time period might speak to this point. What would the clear examples of this sentiment look like? Where could it be found? In the form of brochures, society meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, or other ephemera? Fortunately, the African-American History Research Guide from BHS gives those who are asking these questions dozens of places to begin on research relating to this topic. I found this event to be very interesting and easy to connect to so many interesting books, collections, and archival objects within BHS. For that reason, I wish BHS outreach staff had used the event as an opportunity to highlight the research guide, or selected books or other documents from the Othmer Library's collection. I imagine this might have been done by sharing photos of artifacts, ephemera, and books related to this topic on social media prior to the event, or perhaps at the event itself, through the projected slideshow that precedes the event as guests arrive. |